Barbados public holidays
Public holidays observed in Barbados under the Public Holidays Act, Cap. 352, as published annually by the Ministry of Labour, Social Security and the Third Sector. Calendar year 2026.
| Current value | 26 days held |
|---|---|
| In force from | 2026-01-01 |
| In force until | 2026-12-31 |
| Official source | Ministry of Labour, Social Security and the Third Sector — 'Public Holidays for the Year 2026' (official list of holidays to be observed in Barbados in 2026) |
| Last verified | 2026-07-30 |
| Verification | primary — No verification limitation recorded — read from the official source cited. |
| Provenance | source fingerprint |
What this value means
Twelve holidays, taken verbatim from the Ministry of Labour's 2026 list; the Ministry publishes NO additional day in lieu for 2026. Days of the week: 1 Jan Thu; 21 Jan Wed (Errol Barrow Day); 3 Apr Fri (Good Friday — Easter Sunday is 5 Apr 2026); 6 Apr Mon; 28 Apr Tue (National Heroes Day, marking the Rt Excellent Errol Barrow's birth centenary year observance); 1 May Fri; 25 May Mon (Whit Monday — Pentecost 24 May); 1 Aug SATURDAY (Emancipation Day); 3 Aug Mon (Kadooment Day, always the first Monday in August, closing Crop Over); 30 Nov Mon (Independence Day); 25 Dec Fri; 26 Dec SATURDAY (Boxing Day). SUBSTITUTION RULE (Public Holidays Act, Cap. 352): a Monday in lieu is granted where a listed holiday falls on a SUNDAY. Both weekend collisions in 2026 fall on a SATURDAY, so no substitute Mondays arise and the Ministry's list shows none — do not synthesise 3 Aug or 28 Dec as an 'observed' day for Emancipation/Boxing Day. Note 3 Aug is already a holiday in its own right (Kadooment). Additional non-recurring public holidays are occasionally proclaimed by the Governor-General/President for national events; if one is gazetted mid-year this list must be re-pulled. Access note: the Ministry list is a text-layer PDF and extracts cleanly; it was published in April 2026 (upload path /2026/04/). 2027 EXTENSION (2026-07-30): taken from the Government of Barbados official Bank Holiday Calendar for 2027 under the Public Holidays Act, Cap. 352. Barbados has TWO different lieu rules and both fire in 2027. For New Year's Day, Errol Barrow Day, National Heroes Day, Labour Day, Independence Day and Boxing Day a SUNDAY occurrence is observed on the following Monday - hence Boxing Day gives a lieu day on Monday 27 December. For Emancipation Day and Christmas Day a Sunday OR Monday occurrence adds a further holiday on the Tuesday, additively rather than by replacement - hence Emancipation Day on Sunday 1 August keeps its date and adds Tuesday 3 August, the Monday being occupied by Kadooment Day (which is the first Monday of August, not a fixed date). There is no Saturday rule, so Labour Day and Christmas Day 2027, both Saturdays, get no substitute.
Get it programmatically
curl https://latamref.dev/v1/bb/public-holidays
# Free.
# History: curl https://latamref.dev/v1/bb/public-holidays/history?from=2020-01-01
# Provenance: curl https://latamref.dev/provenance/bb/public-holidaysOther Barbados series: policy interest rate · VAT rate · minimum wage · inflation rate (CPI) · corporate tax rate · income tax rates